While everyone prepares for Christmas and the Holiday Season I have been putting together a selection of books to entertain and occupy your kids during the long summer break. Sure, most of these titles can be given as presents but my intention is to gather together books so engrossing that days might go by without you ever having to hear the moan - "I'm bored".

As you shall soon see below, I have chosen to go with the teens first - the sooner they are placated the better for all concerned. Then come the
six to twelves, the most destructive if left to their own devices so they need something to occupy them fairly quickly.

Strange things have always happened in the small town of Gentry and something even stranger is going on with Mackie Doyle. Mackie has never quite fitted in but now it's clear he is literally dying in a human world.

All Mackie wants to do is belong but as a replacement for the baby he was swapped for sixteen years ago, he doesn't quite fit in the human world or in Mayhem, the secret underworld of Gentry where he came from - a place of fairytales, or nightmares. One thing is clear and that is that his time in the human world is coming to an end. The question is whether he can find the power and the key to resisting Mayhem.

When I read The Replacement I got the same shiver of excitement I had when I read Hush Hush last year. There is so much paranormal fiction out there at the moment that it's hugely exciting when a book comes along that redefines, or extends the genre. The Replacement is a wildly imaginative, dark but ultimately redemptive faerie tale of friendship, belonging and discovering the truth of who you are.

Mackie is a wonderful anti hero and for someone who isn't actually human, humane, brave, flawed and totally believable. Tate, our heroine is fantastically tough and wonderfully fragile at the same time and a great role model for young women. They and all those who love them will stay with you for a long time after you reluctantly finish the last page of this book.

Brenna Yovanoff is a really exciting new author. She has always been an observer, a bit of an outsider. According to her "Mackie Doyle's supernatural origin seemed like a perfect metaphor for feeling like an outsider. In a dark and unusual world, he is searching for a place to belong". I can't wait to see more from her.(Guest reviewer, Lou Johnson, Managing Director, Simon & Schuster Australia)

On his eighteenth birthday, Aaron begins to hear strange voices and is convinced he is going insane.

But having moved from foster home to foster home, Aaron doesn't know whom he can trust. He wants to confide in the cute girl from class, but fears she'll confirm he's crazy.

Then a mysterious man begins following Aaron. He knows about Aaron's troubled past and his new powers. And he has a message for Aaron: As the son of a mortal and an angel, Aaron has been chosen to redeem the Fallen.Aaron tries to dismiss the news and resists his supernatural abilities. But he must accept his newfound heritage -- and quickly. For the dark powers are gaining strength, and are hell-bent on destroying him....

Aaron's senior year has been anything but typical. Half-angel and half-human, he has been charged to reunite the Fallen with Heaven. But the leader of the Dark Powers is determined to destroy Aaron-and all hope of angelic reconciliation.

Struggling to harness the incredible force within him, Aaron trains for the ultimate battle. With the Dark Powers building in strength and numbers, their clash may come sooner than he expects. And everyone who's ever mattered to Aaron is now in grave danger.

Aaron must protect the girl he loves and rescue the only family he's ever known. Because if he can't save them from the Dark Powers, how can he hope to save the Fallen?

The hugely anticipated fifth book in the bestelling The Immortals series by Alyson Noël.

Best friends make the worst enemies-they know all your secrets, your weaknesses, and just how to hurt you most...

After fighting for centuries to be together, Ever and Damen's future hinges on one final showdown that will leave readers gasping for breath.

Night Star continues the epic love story that has enchanted readers across the
world. Ever and Damen must face bitter rivals, jealous friends and their
own worst fears - all in the hope of being together forever.

Don't miss this explosive new instalment of the number one bestselling series that's enchanted millions across the world!

With 2 million copies of her Immortals series in print, Alyson Noël is one of the hottest paranormal teen authors writing today.

Night Star is guaranteed to mesmerize fans and leave them breathlessly awaiting the sixth and final book!

Zombies vs Unicorns challenges you to pick a team, and stick to it. But be warned, these are stellar story-tellers, and they can be very convincing...

Team Zombie: Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Maureen Johnson, Carrie Ryan, Scott Westerfeld and captained by Justine Larbalestier, the author of Liar, How to Ditch Your Fairy and The Magic or Madness trilogy. She has been a zombie enthusiast ever since she first saw George Romero's Night of the Living Dead as a tiny tot. She lives in Sydney, Australia + New York City, USA.

Team Unicorn:
Meg Cabot, Kathleen Duey, Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, Diana Peterfreund are captained by Holly Black, the bestselling author of the Spiderwick series and other novels for teens including, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, Valiant and Ironside, (the Tithe sequel) which was a New York Times bestseller. Her new novel, White Cat, is to be published in the US Summer 2010. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

You're in your favourite bookstore, scanning the shelves. You reach the section where your favourite author's books reside. And there, nestled between the incredibly familiar spines, sits a red notebook. So what do you do? The choice, I think, is obvious: you take down the notebook and open it. And you do whatever it tells you to do.

A New York novel of love, friendship and Christmas.

It's Christmas-time in New York, and world-weary Dash has managed to persuade each of his parents that he is staying with the other, thus sending them both off with their new 'paramours' and leaving him happily shuffling back and forth between their empty apartments. Meanwhile, Christmas-loving Lily is bereft at the thought of spending Christmas without her full complement of family, and has been consoling herself with cookie-baking and carols-singing. When Lily's brother plants a red moleskin notebook in Dash's favourite store, leaving instructions that lead him not only around the bookstore but eventually out into the Christmas-sozzled city, the scene is set for a back-and-forth
series of clues, coincidences and missed rendezvous.

Will sarcastic, intriguing Dash finally meet up with nerdy but loveable Lily? Only time will tell as the two teenagers try to outwit each other for as long as possible in this charming twist on the classic game of cat and mouse.

In this collection of thirteen fabulously chilling stories - from thirteen true masters of suspense, including five NEW YORK TIMES bestsellers and a number of Edgar Award nominees, all edited by none other than R. L. Stine - nothing is what it seems. From cannibalistic children, to an unwitting date with a vampire, to a crush on a boy who just might be a werewolf, no scary stone is left unturned. A must-have for all fans of the genre!

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he's doing all right - until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam.

Then Sam discovers he's a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.

With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get.

Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But can a bratty harbinger named Ashley save his skin?

Jasper Fforde's first work for a younger generation of readers: hilarious, offbeat and bewitching, this is the start of a Dragonslayer trilogy.

In the good old days, magic was powerful, unregulated by government, and even the largest spell could be woven without filling in magic release form B1-7g. Then the magic started fading away. Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs Kazam!, an employment agency for soothsayers and sorcerers. But work is drying up. Drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and even magic carpets are reduced to pizza delivery.

So it s a surprise when the visions start. Not only do they predict the death of the Last Dragon at the hands of a dragonslayer, they also point to Jennifer, and say something is coming. Big Magic . .

In 1894, twelve-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to find her unknown father and his farm. But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. Her father has turned swaggie and he's wanted by the troopers. In front of his terrified daughter, he makes a stand against them, defiant to the last. 'You'll never catch me alive, said he...'

Set against a backdrop of bushfire, flood, war and jubilation, this is the story of one girl's journey towards independence. It is also the story of others who had no vote and very little but their dreams.

Drawing on the well-known poem by A.B. Paterson and from events rooted in actual history, this is the untold story behind Australia's early years as an emerging nation.

At long last, the astonishing sixth and final novel in Richelle Mead's epic Vampire Academy saga is here! (oh, if you love paranormal novels and you haven't read Richelle Mead, you're missing out! And you'll need to rectify the situation immediately.)

To celebrate the December release of Last Sacrifice Penguin Australia and Booktopia are giving away three full sets of the Vampire Academy series! Three sets of six books. Yep! And all you have to do is pre-order a copy Last Sacrifice before 7th December, 2010. (All those who have pre-ordered before today are in the running as well.)

Wouldn't you like to receive a brand new set of the six books in pristine condition to keep, to treasure, or to give to your best bud? What a brilliant Christmas gift!

Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy books follow the war between two races of vampires, living and undead. Rose Hathaway, a 17-year old half-vampire, is training to be a bodyguard for the living vampires and finds her life complicated by the constant danger. As well as an illicit romance with one of her teachers, Rose continually struggles to protect her best friend from the evils that surround them. If you like vampire stories, you'll love the
Vampire Academy saga.

Book six, Last Sacrifice, is one of the most highly anticipated books of the year.

How hot is this book? We took our first pre-order for Last Sacrifice in JULY!

Camille and Madeleine are perfect little girls, beautifully behaved and very wise. They live with their mother at Chateau Fleurville. When another little girl Margeurite and her widowed mother come to stay and Sophie, who is now orphaned is 'adopted' by the family, the four girls become firm friends.

Margeurite and Sophie are constantly aspiring to the considerate thoughtful behaviour of Camille and Madeleine but through their adventures all four learn to be responsible for their actions and steadfast loyalty. With gentle humour and engaging characters this story is a delight for girls everywhere.

Camille and Madeleine along with their friends Marguerite and Sophie are waiting excitedly for their cousins to arrive for the Summer holidays.

The children fill their days building cabins, having picnics and games of hide and seek but things nearly go wrong when Sophie, hiding in an hollowed out tree trunk but is unable to climb out. But things really get exciting when Sophie's mother and cousin Paul unexpectedly return, it turns out they had escaped the shipwreck in which they were thought to have drowned and had made their way to a foreign land! The children are enthralled by the Crusoe-like tales of survival and adventure.

It's December, the final month in the deadly 365-day countdown. Cal desperately needs to get to Ireland - where he's counting on all the clues falling into place - but with airport security at an all-time high, escaping the country seems impossible. Will Cal find out what really happened to his dad?

Will he reach the Ormond Singularity before the stroke of midnight? Only time will tell. One thing's for sure, people will lose their lives in the fight to the end ... and Cal's hoping he won't be one of them ... The clock is ticking. Any second could be his last. Callum Ormond has been warned. He has 31 days. The countdown continues . . .

A terrific list of varied and imaginative fun things for kids to do on the school holidays. And the best thing is it is written by those who really know what is fun to do while school's out.

On the first day of the summer holidays, 12-year olds Anna and Tessa sat down and wrote a list of 101 simple and fun things they wanted to try. The result is this invaluable book full of ideas and instructions on how to really have fun this holiday. Kids happy - Mum and Dad happy!

It's winwin. Ideas include: Make tie-dyed T-shirts; Make a CD of your favourite songs; Make a time capsule; Make an obstacle course; Go a whole morning saying only 'yes', 'no' and 'hello'; Swap names with a friend to confuse people; Have a water bomb war; Make a Coke and Mentos rocket.

Mobile phones, Tom-Toms, laptops, digital cameras, MP3s, camcorders, DVD
players... These days scarcely a home in the country is without at
least one of these devices - yet for many they are the scourge of family
togetherness.

All of which is why the time is ripe for this unique book, in which
bestselling authors Caplin and Jones show that gadgets can be a force
for good in the home!

From games you can play on the kitchen table in
the five minutes before dinner to day-long adventures in the open air,
and with brand new games as well as fresh takes on perennial classics, Fun and Games for the 21st
Family is a hugely inventive book no modern home should be without.

Packed full of hours of holiday fun, the Bumper Book is a must-have for every child! This fantastic activity book is full of fun drawing activities, cartoons, maps, lists and games to entertain children, take on holidays or pass the time on long car trips.

Terry Denton has an uncanny ability to tap into all the funny, crazy, yucky, weird and downright silly things that children love! Kids will lose themselves for hours in this interactive compilation of everything Terry does best.

With eye-catching interiors and playful activities, this open-ended sketchbook encourages would-be artists of all ages to look at the world around them and take chances expressing what they see. Inspiring and colourful graphic design will unleash the artist in anyone.

Situated in the heart of Manhattan, New York's The Museum of Modern Art attracts over two and a half million visitors a year to its galleries, exhibitions, and education programs. MoMA provides the public access to the world's finest collection of modern and contemporary art and holds more than 200,000 works including paintings, sculpture, drawings, photography, film, media, and design objects.

Not content to stay on dry land, the Life-Size phenomenon leaves the zoo for a visit to the aquarium. From the clownfish to the killer whale, sea otter to walrus, young readers will see some of their favourite animals from a perspective than they've ever had before.

With informative, fun facts accompanying the stellar photographs of each animal, Life-Size Aquarium brings readers eye-to-eye with 19 different animals, including a leafy sea dragon, a luna lionfish, a humphead wrasse, two different varieties of penguins, a sea turtle, a jellyfish, a spider crab, a sea otter, and more. As in previous volumes, three of the animals in this book - a walrus, a killer whale, and a dolphin - spring out of the book in oversized gatefolds.

The entire Harry Potter series wonderfully brought to life in readings by Stephen Fry. This beautifully packaged boxed set features the 'signature' livery.

J.K. Rowling's complete internationally mega bestselling Harry Potter series brilliantly brought to life by Stephen Fry. From Harry's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to his final battle with arch-enemy Voldemort, listen to the seven spellbinding novels in the Harry Potter series being read by Stephen Fry.

Mullygrubber Malone is a 12-year-old leg spinner who goes all the way from his school team to the Australian Test XI in one summer. When NSW's first-choice spinner is injured, there's an uproar when he's called into the Sheffield Shield.

Come January, when Australia needs a spinner to play the final Test of the Ashes series against England at the SCG, the selectors decide they can't pick a 12-year-old. There's no way they'll pick a 12-year-old. But they pick the 12-year-old. He ends up bowling the final over of the match to decide the series.

A cheerfully illustrated rhyming (paperback) book featuring a host of Australian animals coming to visit sleepy Koala.

The branch fills with groups of fun-loving friends, providing an opportunity for counting from 1-10, and visually identifying numerals. A cheeky frog hiding on every page also tests observational skills!

At the back of the book - interesting facts about the featured animals completes the journey.

This beautiful baby book is published as part of the Peter Rabbit Naturally range. As an added bonus, the materials are all safe, recyclable, sustainable and come from ethically responsible sources.

In this book parents can record every significant event of their child's first year. Included are three envelopes for precious keepsakes and the dust jacket folds out to produce a wall poster on which to chart the baby's development.

The soft artwork style reflects the natural qualities of the materials.

The book is packaged with an organic comforter which is decorated with a Peter Rabbit motif.

Stroller time is much more fun when these flash cards come along for the ride! This bright, graphic set includes five touch-and-feel cards in five different shapes with engaging textures and pictures. Easy to attach to a stroller, backpack, or diaper bag, these cards are as visually stimulating in the box as they are in baby's hand.

Warning: Possible entanglement or strangulation injury when attached to crib or playpen. Do not attach to crib or playpen.

A delightful hide-and-seek counting board book - perfect for sharing with small children.

One cockatoo on his own in a tree.Two cockatoos fly over......that's three!

Small children will love learning to count from one to ten, as they spot the cockatoos in the pages of this gorgeous picture board book.

Sarah Garson was born in Banbury and studied at Middlesex University. She did her Masters at the Cambridge School of Art. While living in Oxford she became involved with the establishment of The Story Museum. She is married to a Rhodes scholar, and is currently living in Australia.